Connor Scott, a spokesman for the city's Office of Emergency Management, said Wilkens Avenue will be closed in both directions between S. Payson Street and S. Monroe Street until about midnight Tuesday while Baltimore Gas and Electric crews shut off gas to the building.

Scott said the facade of 1920 Wilkens Avenue collapsed at about 7:20 p.m., and that no one was injured. The two rowhouses on each side of 1920 Wilkens, which were divided into apartments, had to be evacuated due to concerns over their structural integrity, he said.

The Red Cross and the city Office of Neighborhood Services are helping the 11 residents who are displaced. Records show the vacant house was valued at $3,000.

A 31-year-old man who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Baltimore after he pleaded guilty to possessing 5.9 grams of marijuana won an appeal Wednesday invalidating the plea — raising the possibility that he will be released.